Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Audi Crooks of state champion Bishop Garrigan again joined teammate Molly Joyce on the first team IPSWA all-state squad.

Audi Crooks, Molly Joyce and Macy Sievers have seen a lot of each other the past four seasons.

Once again, the area trio finds itself in the same spot at the top.

The Bishop Garrigan junior duo of Crooks and Joyce, along with Newell-Fonda’s senior Sievers, earned first team Iowa Print Sports Writers Association all-state honors on Monday.

It’s the third consecutive time in their respective careers they have been selected for one of the top honors in girls basketball.

South Central Calhoun, which played in the state tournament for the first time since 2015, landed junior Riley Batta on the Class 2A second team.

Pocahontas Area senior Carley Janssen was on the Class 3A third squad.

The Golden Bears ended the Mustangs’ reign atop Class 1A basketball, as they claimed the state crown with a 52-49 victory over MCCRU — the team that had upset Newell-Fonda in the semifinals.

Crooks, who is the top recruit in the state of Iowa and ranked 58th in the nation, has already produced a record- breaking career in only three seasons.

“All (Crooks and Joyce) wanted to do was win a state title,” BGHS head coach Brandon Schwab said. “They couldn’t care less about stats and accolades. It’s neat to be (state) tournament MVP (Joyce), but at the end of the day, all they care about is the championship.”

Crooks finished the year with 644 points (23.0 per game), 336 rebounds (12.4) and 92 blocks.

The 6-foot-3 center, who is the daughter of the late Fort Dodge Senior High Jimmie Crooks and ex-Garrigan standout Michelle (Vitzthum) Cook, is 170 points from reaching the 2,000-point plateau in her career. Only 20 players have topped that mark in 5-on-5 state history.

“Audi puts in a ton of work,” said Schwab. “In the finals, she only had eight (field goal) attempts. We want to get her 20, but she just went with what the defense gave her and didn’t force anything.

“That’s the kind of player and person she is.”

Crooks’ 120 rebounds in nine state tournament games passes Stephanie Rich (1998-2001) of Washington for the all-time career mark. Rich did it in 12 appearances.

Crooks is also fourth on the all-time state tournament point charts with 214. Pocahontas Area’s Elle Ruffridge is the leader at 250.

In her career, Crooks already has 942 rebounds and 287 blocked shots. She is averaging a double-double with 22.3 points and 11.5 rebounds. Her career field goal percentage is 71.2 percent.

“I’m proud to make first team,” Crooks said. “It just reflects the amount of work that I’ve put into basketball.”

Both Crooks and Joyce have been on the all-tournament team three times each. Crooks was the captain as a freshman; Joyce earned the honor last week.

“You don’t need to look any further than Molly’s dad, Pat, to see why her game has developed mentally and physically the way that it has. Her skill set is because of him,” Schwab said. “Since she was in fourth grade, she had to make 10 straight free throws (in practice situations). He would tell her if you want to win a state title, that’s what you have to do.

“He spends a great amount of time with her on the court. When we would get done with a two-hour practice, they would go and practice for 45 minutes more.”

Joyce, who was also the Top of Iowa Conference player of the year, scored 68 points in this year’s state tournament with 11 steals and 11 assists. She has 145 state tournament points in her career.

“I would say if there is any D-I program that has questions about Molly, they should watch the state tournament,” Schwab said. “There is no other point guard in all five classes that I would want on our side than Molly Joyce.”

Joyce averaged 17.8 points this year, scoring 500 points total. She also had 137 assists and 107 steals.

In her career, Joyce has 1,452 points, 311 assists and 323 steals to go along with 168 rebounds.

Sievers has been part of something special for Newell-Fonda, with three state title teams and four straight trips to the state tournament.

“(Sievers) is a tremendous leader and did a great job of getting the ball where it needs to be,” said N-F head coach Dick Jungers. “She had a tremendous four years here. She finishes up her career with just three losses total, three state titles in four state appearances, four conference titles (Twin Lakes Conference) and four regional championships.

“Very few have been able to do that.”

In her state tournament career spanning 11 games, Sievers is first all-time in assists (51), third in steals (46) and has scored 167 points. In her four years, Newell-Fonda went 104-3.

This year, Sievers scored 374 points (14.3), dished out 157 assists, grabbed 120 rebounds and recorded 115 steals.

For her career, Sievers closed with 1,338 points, 508 assists, 416 steals and 423 rebounds.

“My teammates and coaches play a major role in this award,” Sievers said. “Everyday my coaches get on me because they know what I am capable of and my teammates push me on every drill.

“Although this is an individual award I wouldn’t get it without them. I am very humbled to receive this award, but again I didn’t reach this award alone.”

Batta scored 423 points (16.9 average) for the Titans, who lost in the state quarterfinals. Batta pulled down 208 rebounds to go along with 63 assists and 58 steals.

Janseen scored 383 points (16.7 per contest) for the Indians. She had 105 steals, 82 assists and 48 rebounds for PAC.